Maps are about planning and discovery – and if you plan to be in Canberra this side of March you might like to discover more about how we have mapped our world at the NLA.

Mapping the World: Terra Incognita to Australia

National Library of Australia

Until March 10, 2014

10:00am to 5:00pm – Admission Free

From the world’s great maps collections come the charts that inspired the European idea of Australia, from ancient and medieval notions of a great south land to Matthew Flinders’ 1814 map of the continent.

Opening in the ancient world, the exhibition explores conceptions of the Earth and the heavens. The exhibition concludes with never-before-displayed hand-drawn maps created by James Cook, Louis de Freycinet and Matthew Flinders.

Britain and France’s scientific and commercial rivalry fuelled a race to grasp the South Pacific from the late eighteenth century. These maps ultimately led to the first complete outline map of Australia.

Coincidentally you could use a map to navigate the short distance from the NLA to Rydges Capital Hill